Darkness hides in the shadows
by DarkLordJames
Summary: Harry Potter lives every day of his life with the looming threat of a Dark Lord over the Magical Community. A strong sense of duty and revenge drives him to be the best he can possibly be. Yet who are his allies? Albus Dumbledore, the kind old Headmaster of Hogwarts? Tom Riddle, the cunning Minister of Magic? How can you prevail when everything you see could be a lie, an illusion.


Thunder roared threateningly through the air, followed closely by the splash of lightning splitting the night sky. The steady beating of rain smashed against the tiled roofs of nearby houses. The cacophony of sounds defeaning to all residents of this normally quiet village. Though it was Halloween not a single child could be seen braving the weather in search of candy. It truly was strange how the village, Godric's Hollow, could have such pleasant weather throughout the day only to be besieged by this storm as soon as the last rays of sunlight dipped beyond the horizon. One would almost call it supernatural in nature, others who knew more about how the world works would most definitely claim that this was a magical storm.

It was inside this village that we found one distinctly uncomfortable family, the Potter's. The family comprised of three members. There was James Charlus Potter, aged 21, a recently made full-fledged auror. He was a handsome looking man with his messy brown hair, mischievous hazel eyes, and athletic build. His six foot tall frame allowed him to tower over his wife of three years, Lily Jay Evans-Potter. She had a beauty all of her own, some would even say she was the most beautiful woman in the village. People could stare all day at her flaming red hair that framed her pale, delicate face. Yet it was her eyes that stood out the most, her alluring emerald eyes could stare into your very soul.

However, perhaps the most interesting member of the family, was the little Harry James Potter. A cheerful child who had recently turned one whole year old. Currently his chubby little fists waved around the air excitedly, his eyes – exactly like his mothers – glowed with joy. James Potter leaned down and ruffled his sons messy brown hair as he let even more colorful sparks fly from his wand in a slight imitation of fireworks. Still, even with all the happiness their child was displaying, James and Lily exchanged a meaningful glance. They knew this was no normal storm, and they worried about how it might affect them.

They had every right to be nervous, for at that exact moment a man appeared just 100 meters away from their house. There was no crack of apparition, no glow of a portkey, just one second there was no one, and then the next there was someone. The man slowly walked down the street, his blue eyes shining from underneath his dark hood. No other features of this mysterious man could be see, though it was definitely odd how the rain seemed to veer away from him at the last second, leaving him completely dry.

Slowly one pale, almost skeletal, hand emerged from his cloak holding a white-tinged wand. The man came to a stop out front the house of the Potter's. His gaze taking an almost contemplative air as his eyes came to a rest at the front window. The image of the family cheerfully playing seen through the brightly lit window. With a calm contradictory to the atmosphere the man waved his wand through the air, a jet of white light splashing against the front door. For a second all seemed to freeze, before cracks started appearing across the woodwork. They snaked their way through the door before stretching across the whole front of the house. A groan echoed through the air, drowning out even the thunder, before the door started crumbling to dust. The rest of the front half of the house followed suit, walls, windows, doors, disappearing in a cloud of dust as if they were being disintegrated.

A glow of blue light erupted amidst the chaos, forming a perfect blue orb around the family inside. The dust and carnage of the destruction all deflected off the orb, shielding the family. Slowly, but surely, the place settled once more, or as much as the weather would allow. James Potter stood regally inside his destroyed house, eyes glaring at the man responsible for such damage, his wand held aloft like a sword ready to strike. Behind him stood Lily, one arm cradling their baby, the other holding a wand just as steady as her husband.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Yelled James Potter over the roaring wind, hair becoming even messier now it was exposed to the elements.

"Dear me, I disappear for a few years and people forget who I am." The man whispered, his voice carrying over to them as if he spoke directly in their ears, "I am here to find out the truth James Potter, you have the answers I seek."

His cold voice caused James to pale, his skin shining brightly in the dark. James' mouth worked up and down in a struggling attempt to reply but it seemed his voice had failed him. Clearly he recognized this man, as did his wife who seemed equally as stunned. A slight whimper from Harry broke Lily from her shock. With a shout, she lashed out her wand at the man, a dangerous yellow bolt of light crackled across to him.

The man simply twitched his wand, the bolt slowing before disappearing entirely centimeters before his face.

"Now that wasn't very nice." The man responded, tilting his head to the side. Before either of the Potters could blink, a return purple spell smashed into Lily causing her to drop Harry to the ground. Silently she stood there for a second, her eyes flicking in every direction in rapid succession. Beads of sweat formed on her brow, and her mouth opened in a soundless scream. James Potter could only watch in horror as his beautiful wife seemed to descend into a full on panic attack. Her arms waved as if defending against invisible forces, her wand slashed out spells that fortunately avoided the others, before eventually she collapsed unconscious on the floor. Whimpers occasionally escaped her mouth, now drowned out by the currently crying baby Harry.

James Potter roared with rage, before a dozen spells left his wand, all directed towards the man. It took only a few seconds for the strange person to negate all the spells and have James Potter frozen in place, held in position by some type of petrification magic. The man slowly strode forward, before stopping just in front of James. His eyes gazed deeply in the others, blue met hazel, calm detachment meeting pure rage. Then James started twitching violently, his eyes slowly changing from anger to pain.

The man's mind forcefully entered James with all the subtlety of a raging beast, his mind tearing the others to shreds as he searched every nook and cranny for the information he seeked. All of a sudden he stopped, releasing James from his hold.

"Dumbledore!" The man growled down at the now laying James. The man seemed to stare thoughtfully at James Potter for a few seconds longer. With a slight shrug a purple spell, just like the one that hit Lily, whacked into him as well.

Without a second glance towards his downed opponents, their crying baby, or the destroyed house, the man calmly walked back in the direction he came before disappearing entirely.

* * *

 **Dark Lord Returns?**

 _By R. Skeeter_

In a shocking attack that brings back horrible memories of the last war, the Potter family has been torn apart. Around 8pm last night, Halloween, an unknown assailant assaulted the Potter home, destroying large parts of the house. Unfortunately, I can report that was not the worst thing to happen during this dreadful night.

James Potter, Auror, and his wife, Lily Evans-Potter, were both hospitalized with serious injuries. Saint Mungo's refused to comment but I can confirm that their injuries are mental in nature, and the symptoms are familiar. They seem to be behaving in the exact manner of those hit by the recent Dark Lord's signature curse. James and Lily Potter seem to be in an eternal state of terror, awake or asleep. No one has ever worked out which curse this is, what the effects actually are, and how to cure it. Their only son, Harry Potter, has emerged from the attack unscathed.

Citizens are wondering if this indicates the return of the Dark Lord who mysteriously disappeared fifteen years ago. The magic used on the night definitely indicates that of a powerful dark wizard who is more than capable of acts of unspeakable evil. We ask ourselves, why target the Potters? And who, other than the Dark Lord, could defeat the young, powerful couple so easily?

We asked this of the recently elected Minister of Magic, Tom Riddle, and our answer was as follows:

"We have no reason to believe this is the act of the missing self-styled Dark Lord. We will do everything in our power to find the culprits and bring them to justice. Our full sympathies to the friends and family of the Potter's, and we promise to help this notable magical family in any way we can."

I also asked Headmaster Dumbledore for his opinion but he declined to comment. We, here at the Daily Prophet, hope this is not the beginning of a new Dark Age.


End file.
